Social Security Repair Bills, Compared by Actuaries
In a webinar this week, a panel of Academy actuaries presented their analysis of three legislative proposals now floating inside the Beltway. One raises taxes, one lowers benefits, and...
Stimulus Money and Mobius Strips
Our financial system doesn't crash because the banks accommodate the Treasury's liquidity needs and the Fed accommodates the banks' liquidity needs. It works kind of like a Mobius strip.
How Biden Might Pay for Expenditures
Having appropriated $1.9 trillion for pandemic recovery, and with more big ideas in store, the Democrats will be looking to balance their largesse with new revenue. If you're among...
Pandemic Hurt Annuity Sales in 2020
Annuity sales were buoyed in 2020 by a spike in purchases of registered index-linked annuities (up 38%) and fixed annuities (up 10%). Income annuity sales are north of $10...
‘Income America’ Offers ‘5ForLife’
'Our clients are so past proprietary solutions,” said Scott Colangelo, who brought Lincoln Financial, Nationwide, American Century funds, Vanguard, Fidelity and others together to create Income America 5ForLife, an...
Beware the ‘Specialized’ ETFs
In this month's Research Roundup, RIJ shares four recent academic papers on the proliferation of ETFs, the danger (or not) of national debt, rational inflation expectations, and the impact...
‘Bermuda Triangle’ Deal for Principal Financial?
Principal Financial Group, Elliott Investment Management, and Prosperity Life (majority owned by Elliott) may be headed for the same type of 'capital liberating' reinsurance deal that so many other...
Jackson National Puts Its Future in Veteran Hands
Laura Prieskorn (left) and Marcia Wadsten are the new CEO and CFO of Jackson National Life. The leading seller of variable annuities in the US is in the process...
The Southwest Book Trader Contemplates Retirement
George Hassan, owner of Southwest Book Trader in Durango, Colorado, told me about his confrontation with Hunter S. Thompson, and about his bouts of CRS and CSS.
Which ‘Dependency Ratio’ Should We Use?
Economists typically use the 'aged dependency ratio' to show the burden of the Social Security program on workers. But the 'total dependency ratio' might be more informative. (Photo by...
Who Stormed the Capitol? Future Retirees
Everyone at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will be a retiree. To understand their anger, and its implications, I attended a Brookings Institution webcast this week on 'rage and...
Boola-Boola, Retirement Moolah
Yale's $7 billion 403(b) plan offers TIAA's RetirePlus Pro target-date solution to its 27,000 active and retired participants. The portfolios use Vanguard and TIAA CREF funds, and a liquid...
Groundhog Day (Again) in D.C.
Last Tuesday was Groundhog Day. The event reminded me of the Bill Murray movie, which reminded me of Washington, D.C., where our legislators seem happy to take the same...
How to Solve the World’s Retirement Crisis
Retrofitting 401(k) plans with lifetime income options is one of the thorniest challenges of our time. We describe three possible solutions to that puzzle, from Nobelist Robert Merton and...
Watch now: A ‘Deep Dive on Retirement Drawdown Strategies’
This one-hour video of yesterday's webinar, sponsored by The American College, features retirement income specialists Joe Elsasser and James DiLellio. Some 1,800 advisers attended. Our story summarizes the webinar...
NY Life, Schwab Flex Their Annuity Muscles
New York Life's new IndexFlex VA has a fixed indexed sleeve--the insurer's first index-linked offering. Charles Schwab's Genesis VA (issued by Protective Life) has lots of income optionality. The...
Modeling Variable Annuity Owner Behavior
Americans own almost $900 billion worth of variable annuities with lifetime income guarantees. Uncertainty over the way policyholders and their advisers might use the contracts can keep life insurer...
Why Sammons MYGA Sales Spiked in 2020
'No one predicted the pandemic, but when spreads gapped, we had an opportunity get some attractive yields. So we saw a monstrous increase in sales of fixed multi-year guaranteed...
Trends RIJ Will Track in 2021
When will annuities be loved? After all the creative destruction of the past 10 years, what’s next for the annuity industry? Which trends will persist? Which products will flourish?...
Building a Bridge to Social Security
Middle-class people who retire before age 70 should spend 401(k) assets first and delay taking Social Security, says a leading retirement income expert. In a new research paper, she...
